"largely aired soap opera reruns, began to be phased out in 2012 and fully ceased operations the following year. The Daytime Emmy Awards, which honor soap operas and other daytime shows, moved from primetime network television to smaller cable channels in 2012, then failed to get any TV broadcast at all in 2014, 2016, and 2017. Several of the U.S.’s most established soaps ended between 2009 and 2012. The longest-running drama in television and radio history, ""Guiding Light"", barely reached 2.1 million daily viewers in 2009 and ended on September 18 of that year, after a 72-year run. ""As the"
"– are also the three longest serving actors in the history of American soap operas. The show passed its 10,000th episode on May 12, 1995, and celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 2, 2006. On September 18, 2009, ""As the World Turns"" became the last remaining Procter & Gamble-produced soap opera for CBS after ""Guiding Light"" aired its final episode on the network. On December 8, 2009, CBS announced that it was canceling ""As the World Turns"" after a run of almost 54 years due to low ratings. The show taped its final scenes on June 23, 2010, and with"
"ratings. The show aired its final episode on December 26, 1986, after 35 years on the air. At the time of its cancellation, it was the longest-running daytime television program in history. It was replaced the following Monday in its timeslot by the game show ""Wordplay"". From 1987 until summer 1989, reruns aired on cable TV in late night on the USA Network. The network aired episodes from the first three years (1982-1985) of the NBC run. In 2006, P&G began making several of its soap operas available, a few episodes at a time, through America Online's AOL Video service,"
"longest-running, regularly scheduled primetime drama. The final episode aired on NBC on May 24, 2010. The late announcement of the cancellation resulted in ""Law & Order"" not having a ""series finale"" episode. Had the series continued, it would have been the last to feature S. Epatha Merkerson, who prior to the cancellation announcement had herself announced that she would not return for the 21st season. Although NBC cancelled ""Law & Order"", AMC Network investigated its revival; however, attempts to revive the series failed, and according to series creator Dick Wolf, the series has now ""moved to the history books"". This"
"Guiding Light Guiding Light (known as The Guiding Light before 1975) is an American television soap opera. It is listed in ""Guinness World Records"" as the longest-running drama in television in American history, broadcast on CBS for 57 years from June 30, 1952, until September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio from 1937 to 1956. With its run of 72 years of radio and television, ""Guiding Light"" is the longest running soap opera before ""General Hospital"" and the fifth-longest running program in all of broadcast history; only the American country music radio program ""Grand Ole Opry"" (first broadcast"
"acting. ""General Hospital"" is the third longest-running soap opera in history and the longest-running American soap still in production. Started on April 1, 1963, the show became the highest rated show on daytime television within a decade, eclipsing previous leader ""As the World Turns"". In 1977 ""General Hospital"" started to suffer a major drop in ratings and was at risk of being cancelled when Gloria Monty was hired on as executive producer. Monty refocused the series on younger characters and the show became the most successful daytime soap on television, with the 1981 episode featuring the wedding between characters Luke"
"Brian Frons Brian Scott Frons (born June 15, 1956) is an American television executive and the former president of ABC Daytime. Brian Frons first worked at CBS Daytime from 1978 to 1983. He left CBS in 1983 to join NBC Daytime, where he stayed during the rest of the 1980s as vice president. In 1986, he canceled ""Search for Tomorrow"" which was at the time the longest running soap opera in television, but also the lowest-rated program among the 14 daytime soap operas on the air that year. During his time at NBC, Frons also introduced ""Generations"", the first soap"
"Our Lives"". Best-selling novelist Brian Keene has stated in interviews that he has watched the show since 1983, and pauses from writing each day during the hour it is on. Days of Our Lives Days of Our Lives (also stylized as Days of our Lives; often abbreviated to DOOL or Days) is an American daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around the world. Until the network's closure in 2013,"
"soap opera to make such a transition. The serial aired its 14,000th episode on February 23, 2018. ""General Hospital"" became the oldest American soap opera on September 17, 2010, following the final broadcast of CBS' ""As the World Turns"". On April 14, 2011, ABC announced the cancellation of both ""All My Children"" and ""One Life to Live"", leaving ""General Hospital"" as the last remaining soap opera airing on the network after January 13, 2012. The show celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 1, 2013. ""General Hospital"" was created by Frank and Doris Hursley and premiered on April 1, 1963. The"
"Guiding Light (2000–09) The Guiding Light (GL) is the longest-running American soap opera. At the turn of the century, a large segment of the show revolved around San Cristobel, Richard and Reva discovered that they had a son named Johnathan who had been hidden away to protect him from evil Edmund and that Johnathan was being raised by Richards ex-lover Olivia's sister and her husband.Then Cassie married Richard and Richard's evil brother Edmund plotted to keep them apart. Richard abdicated his throne after discovering that he was illegitimate. Democratic elections held a few weeks later to decide San Cristobel's political"
"in February 2014 that it would no longer accept footage or pictures of the children of celebrities from paparazzi photographers. This show is the longest-running syndicated show, surpassing ""Soul Train"", which had a 37-year run. , despite competition from ""The Insider"" and even the more general-focus newsmagazine ""Inside Edition"", both which are also produced by CBS Television Distribution, ""Entertainment Tonight"" remained among the ten highest-rated syndicated programs according to Nielsen weekly ratings. During the 2007–08 season, the program's daytime ratings fluctuated between fourth and fifth place due to competition from fellow CBS-syndicated program ""Judge Judy"". Entertainment Tonight Entertainment Tonight (or"
"still running (October 2017) and is the world's longest-running soap opera with a total of over 18,400 episodes. There had been some earlier serialized drama including, the six episode ""The Shadow of the Swastika"" (1939), Dorothy L. Sayers's ""The Man Born To Be King"", in twelve episodes (1941), and ""Front Line Family"" (1941–48), which was broadcast to America as part of the effort to encourage the USA to enter the war. The show's storylines depicted the trials and tribulations of a British family, the Robinsons, living through the war. This featured plots about rationing, family members missing in action and"
"reclaimed this distinction in January 2012, following the conclusion of two of ABC's three remaining soap operas, ""All My Children"" and ""One Life to Live"", which were cancelled the year before. Other than ""Guiding Light"", notable daytime soap operas that once aired on CBS include ""As the World Turns"", ""Love of Life"", ""Search for Tomorrow"", ""The Secret Storm"", ""The Edge of Night"" and ""Capitol"". CBS broadcast the live-action series ""Captain Kangaroo"" on weekday mornings from 1955 to 1982, and on Saturdays through 1984. From 1971 to 1986, CBS News produced a series of one-minute segments titled ""In the News"", which"
"than watch television on that night of the week – led ABC, NBC and CBS to largely abandon first-run series on Saturdays (outside newsmagazines, sports and burned off prime time shows that failed on other nights) in favor of reruns and movies by the mid-2000s. ""America's Most Wanted"" ended its 22-year run on Fox in June 2011, and was subsequently picked up by Lifetime (before being cancelled for good in 2013); ""Cops"", in turn, would move its first-run episodes to Spike in 2013 after 23 seasons (ending its original run on Fox as the network's longest-running prime time program), leaving"
"as ""Buffy the Vampire Slayer"", ""Smallville"", ""Dawson's Creek"", and ""One Tree Hill"". Two dramas produced by Spelling Television, ""7th Heaven"" and ""Charmed,"" helped bring The WB into the spotlight. ""Charmed"" lasted eight seasons, becoming the longest-running drama with female leads. ""7th Heaven"" ran for eleven seasons and was the longest-running family drama and longest-running show for the network. In 2006, Warner and CBS Paramount Television decided to close The WB and CBS's UPN and jointly launch The CW Television Network. In 1998, Warner Bros. celebrated its 75th anniversary. In 1999, Terry Semel and Robert Daly resigned as studio heads after"
"only season; only ""Sunset Beach"" and ""Passions"", also NBC serials, finished a season with a lower final rating. The ninety minutes freed up by the cancellations of ""The Doctors"" and ""Texas"" were filled by game shows beginning the following Monday. ""The Doctors"" saw its place taken by ""Just Men!"", which was cancelled after thirteen weeks. ""For historical ratings information, see List of U.S. daytime soap opera ratings"" 1962–1963 Season 1963–1964 Season 1964–1965 Season 1965–1966 Season 1966–1967 Season 1967–1968 Season 1968–1969 Season 1969–1970 Season 1970–1971 Season 1971–1972 Season 1972–1973 Season 1973–1974 Season 1974–1975 Season 1975–1976 Season 1976–1977 Season 1977–1978 Season 1978–1979"
"although they are on the same network. On December 8, 2009, CBS canceled the series after almost 54 years, with the series finale airing on September 17, 2010, making it the last Procter & Gamble soap opera to end. On November 22, 1963, the live CBS broadcast of ""As The World Turns"" began as always at 1:30 EST. In this episode, the Hughes family was discussing plans for Thanksgiving. Ten minutes later, a ""CBS News Bulletin"" slide suddenly came up on the screen and Walter Cronkite gave the first report of the assassination. At the end of this bulletin, CBS"
"after 57 years on television. The final episode on the network aired on September 18, 2009. 1999-2000 Season (HH Ratings) 2000-2001 Season 2001-2002 Season 2002-2003 Season 2003-2004 Season 2004-2005 Season 2005-2006 Season HH Ratings 2006-2007 Season 2007-2008 Season 2008-2009 Season Guiding Light (2000–09) The Guiding Light (GL) is the longest-running American soap opera. At the turn of the century, a large segment of the show revolved around San Cristobel, Richard and Reva discovered that they had a son named Johnathan who had been hidden away to protect him from evil Edmund and that Johnathan was being raised by Richards ex-lover"
"success of the long-running soap opera has had one sister serial, one spinoff in the United States, and two primetime spinoffs in the United States and the United Kingdom. ""The Young Marrieds"" was ABC's first attempt at a sister serial for ""General Hospital"". It ran for only two years, racking up a total of 380 episodes. Despite its moderate popularity, it was aired against CBS's top-rated ""The Edge of Night"", which it could not compete against. The series finale aired on March 25, 1966, with the show's main protagonist contemplating suicide. It ended in a cliffhanger, leaving the audience wondering"
"later not picked up by CBS. , 696 episodes of the ""NCIS"" franchise have aired. The main ""NCIS"" series is the longest-running show of the franchise which began its sixteenth season on September 25, 2018. ""NCIS"", voted America's favorite Television Series in 2011, finished its tenth season as the most-watched television series in the U.S. during 2012–13 and is broadcast in over 200 territories worldwide. As of the end of the 2014–15 TV season, ""NCIS"" remains TV's most watched drama series. Spin-off ""NCIS: New Orleans"" ended its first season as the second most watched drama on CBS, and the fifth"
"More recently, the CBS fantasy series ""Ghost Whisperer"" enjoyed a successful five-season run on Friday nights, as did the light crime thriller ""Numb3rs"", which ran for six, and ""The Unit"", which ran for four. Currently airing shows ""Hawaii Five-0"" and ""Blue Bloods"" are also faring well, though they admittedly appeal to older audiences who are more likely to stay home on Friday nights (CBS in and of itself typically targets a slightly older key demographic than its competitors). From 2014 to 2016, the long-running reality TV series ""The Amazing Race"" moved from Sunday to Friday nights. ""The Amazing Race"" moved"
"tie with ""Gunsmoke"" (1955–75) and spin-off """" (1999–present) for the longest-running live-action scripted American primetime series. The success of the series has led to the creation of additional shows, making ""Law & Order"" a franchise, with also a television film, several video games, and international adaptations of the series. It has won and has been nominated for numerous awards over the years, including a number of Emmy Awards. On May 14, 2010, NBC announced that it had canceled ""Law & Order"" and would air its final episode on May 24, 2010. Immediately following the show's cancellation, Wolf attempted to find"
"of ""Passions"", ""Days"" is now NBC's last remaining daytime soap opera, as well as the network's last remaining daytime program. Salt Lake City's KSL-TV moved the show to the late night 1:05 a.m. slot three weeks later on September 9 for unknown reasons, though a romantic plot line between two gay characters was theorized to have been a reason for the move; the station is owned by the broadcasting arm of the LDS Church. End of season number of metered viewers (listed as a Nielsen share in millions) and ranking (against other soap operas) from the first broadcast to the"
"for CBS, NBC, and ABC for years and ""Love of Life"" had seen a precipitous drop in ratings since the April 1979 move to the late afternoon many stations ran the syndicated series against the veteran soap opera and, in the case of some CBS affiliates and owned-and-operated stations, preempted ""Love of Life"" in favor of the new ""Match Game"". (""Love of Life"" aired its final episode on February 1, 1980, twenty-one weeks after the debut of the new ""Match Game"".) The daytime syndicated show produced 525 episodes, running until September 10, 1982exactly three years after its debut. ""Match Game""s"
"usually ran from Monday through Friday at exactly the same time every day. A show called The Smith Family which ran only one night a week on WENR in Chicago during the early 1930s was credited as the ""great-granddaddy of the soap operas"" by radio historian Francis Chase, Jr. One of the other shows that helped pioneer the daytime soap opera/serial was ""The Guiding Light"", which debuted on NBC radio in 1937, and then switched to CBS Television in 1952. ""The Guiding Light"" final episode aired on September 18, 2009, having a total of 15,762 episodes air on CBS. Some"
"would become to most popular TV soap opera in America for three decades running, and is still on the air as of 2018. All 907 episodes of ""Where the Heart Is"" were recorded on videotape at the CBS Broadcast Center Studio #44 in New York. Like most soap operas of the late 60s/early 70s, it fell victim to the industry practice of wiping tapes for re-use. Although the master tapes for ""Where the Heart Is"" were erased, some rare kinescopes of the series remain in the possession of private collectors. Only seven videotapes of the soap are confirmed to exist."
"was ABC's longest-running primetime one-hour drama series until ""Grey's Anatomy"" surpassed it in 2016. ""NYPD Blue"" was met with critical acclaim, praised for its grittiness and realistic portrayal of the cast's personal and professional lives, though the show garnered controversy for its depiction of nudity and alcoholism. In 1997, ""True Confessions"" (Season 1, Episode 4), written by Art Monterastelli and directed by Charles Haid, was ranked #36 on """"TV Guides 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time."" In 2009, ""Hearts and Souls"" (Season 6, Episode 5), Jimmy Smits' final episode as a main cast member, #30 on """"TV Guides 100 Greatest"
"to promote the broadcast on social media. General Hospital General Hospital (commonly abbreviated GH) is an American daytime television medical drama. It is listed in ""Guinness World Records"" as the longest-running American soap opera in production and the second longest-running drama in television in American history after ""Guiding Light"". Concurrently, it is the world's third longest-running scripted drama series in production after British serials ""The Archers"" and ""Coronation Street"", as well as the world's second-longest-running televised soap opera still in production. ""General Hospital"" premiered on the ABC television network on April 1, 1963. Same-day broadcasts as well as classic episodes"
"drama. Despite the fall in ratings, ""Another World"" became the first, and thus far only, soap opera to expand to 90 minutes, a move that proved unsuccessful—it remained in eighth place in the 1979–1980 television season. Although it is widely thought that ""Another World"" expansion to 90 minutes was a cause of ratings erosion, the decision to expand the show was made at a time when its ratings (and that of NBC's other serials) were already in steady decline. During the period when ""Another World"" ran daily for 90 minutes it remained NBC's highest-rated soap opera, as it had been"
"World Turns"", ""Another World"", ""One Life to Live"" and ""All My Children"". The soap opera genre experienced a gradual decline beginning in the 1980s due to the continued migration of women into the workplace, culminating in six soaps being canceled by NBC, CBS and ABC between 2003 and 2011 (of those, one, ""Passions"", moved to DirecTV-owned network The 101 for one additional season after its cancellation by NBC in 2009, while ""All My Children"" and ""One Life to Live"" were revived on Hulu for one additional season in 2013 with those series' second cancellations resulting from a dispute between originating"
"World Turns"" aired its final episode on September 17, 2010 after a 54-year run. ""As the World Turns"" was the last of 20 soap operas produced by Procter & Gamble, the soap and consumer goods company from which the genre got its name. ""As The World Turns"" and ""Guiding Light"" were also among the last of the soaps that originated from New York City. ""All My Children"", another New York-based soap, moved its production out to Los Angeles in an effort to reduce costs and raise sagging ratings; however, both it and ""One Life to Live"", each with a four-decade-plus"
"Guiding Light (1990–99) The Guiding Light (TGL) is the longest-running American television soap opera. Pam Long, headwriter since 1983, left the show in early 1991 and was replaced by a triumvirate of writers, Nancy Curlee, Stephen Demorest and James Reilly, the latter who would go on to write ""Days of Our Lives"" and create ""Passions"" for ""NBC"". The realism of the early 1990s was in stark contrast to the mid-1980s, when self-described ""Slut of Springfield"", Reva Shayne (played by Kim Zimmer) was ""Guiding Light""'s central character and storylines tended to be more campy. In fact, executive producer Jill Farren Phelps"
"syndicated programs since they began in the early 1980s, and ""Family Feud"", which has run continuously in daytime syndication since 1999 but saw its viewership rise rapidly in the early 2010s after more risqué questions and new host Steve Harvey were installed. American daytime soap operas have been running on television for over seven decades. Currently , there are four daytime soap operas in production: ABC's ""General Hospital"", NBC's ""Days of Our Lives"", and CBS's ""The Young and the Restless"" and ""The Bold and the Beautiful"". Long-running soaps no longer in production include ""Search for Tomorrow"", ""Guiding Light"", ""As the"